The last several months I’ve shared stories on SD-WAN use cases and our boutique approach. This month I’m sharing perspective on a critical design element for SD-WAN success.
Why Does East-West and North-South Traffic Matter for SDWAN?
One of our key learnings over the past several years is the care that must be given for East-West versus North-South traffic when designing SDWAN solutions. East-West traffic is private traffic between two or more sites, while North-South is traffic between any site and a public internet site or application. For East-West, think of traffic between sites for a company hosted application whereas for North-South think of traffic to O365, Google, Teams, UCaaS, and countless other SaaS applications and websites. Both are critical, but the mix can drive different designs to address security and optimize performance.
East-West traffic can be accommodated over MPLS/VPLS, public internet, private line, or an internet Acceleration Network (iAN). All carry pros and cons. MPLS/VPLS and/or private lines provide tried and true performance but can be costly and create carrier lock-in. Public internet is the most cost-effective solution but can introduce performance concerns for cross and trans-continental traffic. iAN offers a cost-effective hybrid between the two. iAN is the utilization of a global private network that is accessed via the sites’ internet connections and transports the traffic over a low latency, private fiber-optic network. iAN effectively accelerates the traffic when compared to hopping through the public internet and is particularly impactful for cross and trans-continental traffic.
Security is always a paramount concern and needs to be addressed for both types of traffic flows without creating inefficiencies and hindering performance. A solution that has security at the edge is a great fit for a use case with East-West traffic whereas a solution built solely on cloud-based security can leave holes or introduce performance issues for East-West traffic if not carefully addressed.
We have solutions for all the above and the best solution for each customer is designed after thorough discovery. Globalgig’s is about purpose-built versus product-centric SD-WAN solutions. If any of this resonates with you, we are here to help.
Gregg Rowe
Chief Channel Officer
Gregg Rowe is a 28-year veteran of the technology industry. Gregg graduated as an Electrical Engineer from the University of Illinois and added a MBA from Washington University, Olin School of Business. Gregg evolved from his engineering roots to multiple successful sales roles in the robotics, information technology, and telecom industries. From these roles he took on progressively more responsibility holding wholesale, channel, and operational leadership positions with CenturyLink and Vonage. Gregg now leads Globalgig’s Channel program.
